Clinical Pharmacokinetics
The aim of the Clinical Pharmacokinetics Research Group is to determine and use pharmacokinetic parameters to optimise dosing, pharmacodynamic response, and ultimately patient outcomes in specific patient subgroups. The current focus of the Research Group is on critically ill patients, and the determination of pharmacokinetic parameters of commonly used drugs in the Intensive Care setting. The group consists of a multidisciplinary research team including medical, nursing and pharmacy staff from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Adelaide and Meath Hospital, incorporating the National Children's Hospital (AMNCH), in Tallaght, Dublin, in addition to members from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, TCD.
The research interests of the group include:
- Investigating the effect of continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) on systemic drug clearance, in particular with respect to maintaining adequate plasma concentrations of anti-infective agents commonly used in the ICU setting.
- Determination of the degree of partitioning of therapeutic agents into tissues, initially focussing on the feasibility of determining pulmonary partitioning and local concentration values.
Head of Research Group
- Dr. Deirdre D'Arcy (School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, TCD)
Members of the Research Group (TCD)
- Prof. Owen I. Corrigan (School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, TCD)
- Evelyn Deasy (Lecturer in Hospital Pharmacy, TCD, and Pharmacy Education and Research Manager, AMNCH)
- Dr. Pierce Kavanagh (Chief Technical Officer, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Medicine, TCD)
Members of the Research Group (AMNCH)
- Dr. Maria Donnelly (ICU Consultant)
- Caitríona Gowing (ICU Pharmacist)
Current Research Projects & Funding
Determination of Pharmacokinetic Parameters of commonly used drugs, such as Amphotericin B in critically ill patients. Part-funded by Cephalon Ireland Ltd. through the Intensive Care Unit, AMNCH. Commenced October 2008. PI Dr. Deirdre D'Arcy. Co-PI Prof. Owen Corrigan;
Selected Publications & Patents
M.E. Malone, D.M. D'Arcy, O.I. Corrigan, P. Kavanagh, M.B. Donnelly. Determination of the timescale to reach therapeutic concentrations in tracheal aspirate, following parenteral administration of liposomal amphotericin B. AAPS Journal 2010; 12(S2).
A. M. Spooner, O.I. Corrigan, M.B. Donnelly. An Evaluation of Ciprofloxacin Pharmacokinetics during Continuous Venovenous Haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF). Intensive Care Medicine October 2007.
A. M. Spooner, O. I. Corrigan, M. B. Donnelly. ‘Strategies for Vancomycin Dosage Optimisation during Continuous Venovenous Haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) – How useful are Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Data?' Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress, FIP (International Federation of Pharmacy), Amsterdam, April 22 nd - 25 th 2007.
A. M. Spooner, O. Corrigan, M. B. Donnelly. ‘A Pharmacokinetic Basis for Improving Therapeutic Outcomes of Aminoglycoside Drug Therapy during CVVHDF.' International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Brussels, March 27 th -30 th 2007.
A. M. Spooner, O. I. Corrigan, M. B. Donnelly. ‘A Pharmacokinetic Basis for Improving Therapeutic Outcomes of Aminoglycoside Drug Therapy during CVVHDF.' Critical Care 2007, 11 (Suppl 2):P101.
MacNamee, B., Cunningham, P., Byrne, S., and Corrigan, O.I., The problem of bias in training data in regression problems in medical decision support, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine , 24, 2002, p51 – 70.
S.Byrne, P. Cunningham, A. Barry, I. Graham, T. Delaney and O.I. Corrigan, Using Neural Nets for Decision Support in Prescription and outcome Prediction in Anticoagulation Drug Therapy, Proceedings of 5th International Workshop on Intelligent Data Analysis in Medicine and Pharmacology at 14th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence , Berlin, Germany , August , edited by N. Lavrac, S. Miksch and B. Kavsek , 2000, pp9 – 12.
S.Byrne, , A. Barry , P. Cunningham, I. Graham, T. Delaney and O.I. Corrigan, Do Artificial Neural Networks have a place in Warfarin Therapy?, Pharmacy World Congress 2000, 60th International Congress of FIP Abstracts , Vienna, Austria , August , 2000.